Just have the first few hours of TNT Coverage (7 am – 10 am). Have full Round 2 footage I will post later this week. No commercials.
Also had to mute some sound because of Copyright infringement so at least there’s video.
we bid you a good afternoon from Turnberry in Scotland As in the States your day has just begun And as you pour that first cup of coffee or the second early in the morning on Thursday we say thanks for joining us here on TNT for the 138th Open Championship The famed lighthouse at Turnberry which has stood since 1873 A focal point here Here’s another focal point Tiger Woods looking for his fourth open championship Only 10 players in history have done that And here he is on the tea at the 11th playing 178 yards off the slope Well played coming off a bogey at the 10th If we go back now for his birdie attempt at the 11th Ernie Johnson Ian Baker Finch joining you here from Turnberry Thanks very much Ernie Great to be here at the Open Championship And a beautiful comeback there for Tiger after missing that short one at 10 An excellent birdie at 11 Gets back into the red figures A place where he has to stay with these good scores early Tiger must remain in the red figures And so Tiger at one under and one of the stories of this day remember last year how Greg Norman turned back the clock Tom Watson doing the same thing here on day one as you see him play at 16 32 years since his triumph here in that duel in the sun with Jack Nicholas back in 77
That was the first time this open was contested at Turnberry And Tom has won it five times Only Harry has won the open championship more at X This alluring patch of land with its windb blown grasses time sculpted rock and brisk blue sea creates a soothing amalgamation that tugs at the soul of anyone who has ever wielded a club Over a century ago an official determination was made Golf would be played here In the years to follow global events unfolding thousands of miles away would reshape this cynic landscape while daring the spirit of the game lingering within to persist At the onset of the great world wars of the 20th century duty called and the Elsa course was enlisted into the Royal Air Force Cement runways were poured over lush fairways as the game of solitude yielded to the preservation of sovereignty The monument at top the hill at 12 pay solemn homage to the brave airmen who sacrificed all in defense of their nation and in the name of freedom After the final shots were fired and the wars won the old course was recommissioned to once again become a place of solace camaraderie and competition befitting the such a venue would subsequently frame the wonderment of one of the sport’s most memorable battles the duel in the sun [Applause] I’ve never seen anything like that in my life Absolute drama to the end
From that point Tambbury became known not only for his past but for his possibilities Today the crowds gathered to bear witness to the next phase of this amazing course Not a reforming of the link so much as a redefining of the game Tiger Woods has won his third British Open
For Tiger a fourth career open win would put him back on the path of major prominence As a man who confronts the entire field and the legacies of every great golfer before him Tiger knows why it is imperative that he succeeds now And Irish eyes are smiling again at the open championship
For Padre Harrington a third consecutive victory will be a capstone accomplishment for any competitor Then there are dozens of able challengers strategists and opportunists alike Set to assail the leaderboard Each hopes to bend destiny in his favor and stun the world on this spectacular terrain Here where time has repeatedly embossed his everchanging signature the open champion will stand as the newest most celebrated fixture of this glorious course at least for a moment The 138th Open Championship is on TNT TNT Sports in association with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews presents the 138th Open Championship from Turnberry Always a thrill for us to uh return to Scotland the birthplace of this great game and our first trip to Turnberry The first time it’s been here since 1994 You see the lighthouse you know standing 80 ft tall and Elsa Craig the big granite fixture out there in the fth of Clyde about 10 miles offshore that you see as you walk through these grounds The Turnberry Hotel and had had cloudy skies this morning Actually did have some sun but the conditions have been absolutely ideal and very very little wind Haven’t seen those uh those flags starched at the 18th behind us Been a very comfortable day so far Very comfortable for a guy like Tom Watson too who shares the lead And and for Tiger Woods it’s been alternately comfortable and uncomfortable but he is one under and just three off the pace right now as he plays the 12th Good looking swing there Well done That was an important birdie for Tiger back at 11 Get the momentum back on his side
that he had dropped at 10 We mentioned Greg Norman and how last year he was such a a huge story and not the same story this day He is plus eight as he plays the finishing hole
A man who won here in 1986 shooting 63 in the second round Oh that’s a nice way to finish Had he finished like that in that round of 63 he would have had 61 He actually three puttered to shoot 63 that time Nice way to finish Always a good feeling Played in the final group last year of course Podrick Harrington and uh not going to happen for the Shark this year It was he was the Steve Stricker Eagle try at the 17th
Steve a winner last week at the John Deere Classic Two victories this season Also won the Colonial
Good lag part there at 17 You always wonder how a player will respond coming off a win
Will that uh momentum carry over Are you a little drained Good first day for Steve Stricker
Always a little drained but you don’t have much time to think about it when you’re coming over the pond You get here you fly out of there Sunday night get here Monday morning and off you go again You could hear from the reaction you couldn’t see it but you hear the uh the gallery here at Turnberry applauding Steuart Sink Now Tom Watson Very brisk action here from off the green I’ve always loved his chipping and bunker play 15 on Tom Watson’s card today and that uh a par at the par five seventh Everything else threes and fours Boy oh boy how would you ever write the script to that 322 years after his second open victory won in 75 for his first and then 77 here in that duel in the sun I think that’s the most famous of all the the rebroadcast the retellast of an open championship back in 77 here You can’t make this stuff up It’s actually happening right here Tom Watson at the age of 59 sharing the lead on day one I’m Ernie Johnson This is Ian Baker Finch the uh Open Champion at Burkedale in 1991 Uh this is amazing stuff You never know exactly on day one when you come out here what you will see I don’t know if anybody expected to see Tom Watson where he stands
No there’s so many great players up there in on the first page of the leaderboard past Open Champions Calvia or Omira but Tom Watson really turning back the clock and I think he always gets pumped up for link style golf the open championship the senior open championship which is next week But I think coming back to Turnberry uh maybe just a little bit more pumped up and ready to go than he has been for a long while
Uh of course the winner of the duel of the sun Hasn’t been a very sunny day here but it has been relatively windfree Um and that’s always the variable here How is the weather going to change How much of a break do you get when you go off in conditions like you go off this morning What do you make of the weather we’ve had so far
Well it’s certainly what they all pray for That was the same yesterday morning The couple of days before that we had some rain squalls some heavy rain at times which is unusual But if you do play a lynx golf this the the conditions are the protector of the links And if you do get a chance to get out without the wind it’s there for the taking And uh you can shoot two three four under par Not easily You still have to play well but it’s there for you And it’s unlike any of the other major championships where the course is so tough you have to play great in perfect conditions to shoot par here If the wind doesn’t blow you’re expecting to shoot in the 60s
You know you look at this field of 156 and my question uh here only 21 guys played here the last time it was here 1994 You know very unfamiliar to most of the field here How much of a factor is that or is it one at all
Well it’s a factor in that they come here knowing that the practice rounds really mean something They don’t as you say they don’t know the course very well It doesn’t mean that you can’t win because you haven’t played here before though Tiger won at Hoy Lake three years ago when he hadn’t seen that course before You form a strategy in your practice rounds You maybe come in a week before or a couple of days earlier Make sure you get at least three looks at the course to know where the bunkers are but it’s the conditions as you mentioned It’s a very good point You don’t really know For 3 days they played in a southerntherly wind Tomorrow it could come from the north and be totally opposite
You know uh most of the top players in the world are here Uh 38 of the top 40 Robert Carlson’s not here Phil Mickelson is not here and everybody knows the the reason for that and with with Amy with cancer we send our best to Phil and to his family and to Amy and we’re all pulling for you and cannot wait to see you again Uh Terry Gan and Bill Kratz are joining us Jim Huber’s handling the interviews Uh we have a cast of thousands you’ll be hearing from in the course of our seven plus hours of coverage and Tom Watson has done it again
Another birdie Well that sends him to the top by himself Five under par at the last for 65 Look at that
Respplendant in Argyle and uh always dressed for the occasion here at the Open Championship Five times he has held that Clarit Jug I remember in 96 at Litham Tom had had uh shoulder surgery and Bruce Edwards his old caddy caddied for me there and it’s the only one that he’s missed for many years and you see only Harry Varden topping Tom Watson and and Peter Thompson who won it three times in a row That’s what Patrick Harrington is trying to do That’s right 54 55 56 And then you’ve got guys in this field who are 16 and 17 And Tom has Tom has socks that are older than that
That’s right I was thinking this week may be the week of the teenagers And here we are with the 59year-old leading We’ll see Tiger running that one by Lot of eyes on this group Lee Westwood We talked about his great start as a now two under after a birdie birdie birdie start Oh that’s well done
See that’s another thing you’re noticing here The greens at Turnbury are absolutely perfect They’re always perfect here They’re they’re like greens back home Now David Howell at the 11th a chance to grab a share of the lead Well he jumped up in the top 10 in the world rankings a couple of years ago and we haven’t seen much of David House since then but obviously a very competent player Englishman Tied for seventh at Burkedale last year and having a very solid day one here at Turnberry There’s a new way to Shephard isn’t it uh just one of the sites you’ll see in our extended coverage of the Open Championship from Turnberry in Scotland We’ll be back [Music] It’s already raining but oh boom Here is Steve Stricker at the finishing hole And he’s swinging the club beautifully Great rhythm Classic swing That’s how golf should be No wind nothing to worry about in the elements The rain’s holding Beautiful surfaces What a day Let’s go to 16
guys The difficult 16th Graham McDow Good start early on today but they’ve reconfigured this hole Already difficult but in the wind especially today we’ve got very little wind D at three under Doesn’t like that And the burn which runs in front of this green We’ll see a lot of balls there And we have seen a lot of balls
Yeah that that’s just a brutal hole isn’t it At the 13th Lee Westwood This is a lovely hole plateaued green dog leg right and Westwood comes up short on the 410 yd par4 no bunkers around this green just a plateau and uh difficult to get it up and down almost like a Donald Ross like a Pinehurst number two type green moments ago this was Tiger with an eight iron Don’t do it Don’t do it Hit the edge That’s what he was concerned about
Catches that steep bank It gets a bigger kick off to the left That’ll be a tough up and down
So they are scrambling at the 13th Back to 16
And VJ for a lengthy birdie putt Front edge of the green You can see how much that green slopes towards the burn too Anything coming up just a little short is going to roll back in VJ at three under and should stay there Good start to his first day as we take you to 18
All right Thank you Terry Good to be back with you again this year here at the Open And Steve Stricker has a chance to go to four under Shoot 66 on day one And he does Second in scoring 14th in greens in regulations sixth in putting Great year for Stricker He’s right there at four under
Those statistics all add up to uh lots of money lots of FedEx Cup points back home and hopefully more wins He is just one behind Tom Watson
It’s not his caddy It’s Fenny Sunnison Caddy’s for Henrik Stenson also in that group to 11 Stewart back with the short putter We’ve seen him for many years with the long putter I thought he was the best on tour with the long putter but I guess his confidence left him a little there Decided to go back to the short one
Now the third and 13 for Tiger
Well the only option here to keep it down on the ground Only 15 ft of green to work with Boy what a great piece of judgment this could be
Billy Kay that was beautiful That was really well done Lee Westwood at the 13th
I’m sure Billy Pratchett’s enjoying these uh beautiful weather conditions out there this morning as well
Absolutely And out here earlier in in the practice rounds watched several players use this putter from down underneath the putting service on this hole And not too bad for Westwing
It’s so he’s swinging so nicely Ian Very rhythmical It’s so much easier when the greens are just a normal surface They’re running around 10 and a half on the stimp meter When you do come up onto the greens at that speed it’s so much easier to judge We so used to seeing them at 13 or 14 on the stim meter it’s ridiculous
Sergio has reached the finishing hole Take pot luck over there Sometimes you can get lucky get a decent lie He’s got plenty of green to work with And now Tom Watson You could overlay a picture of 32 years ago on that and it wouldn’t look that much different would it
You think he has some idea how the game is played over here Ian
Yes
Look at this You know to me I watched Tom a lot and uh admired and envied the way he played Lynx golf He didn’t change anything about his game when he came to play Lynx golf He just kept up that brisk pace Uh you know he wasn’t putting the ball back off his back foot and hitting punch shots He just played his normal game
At this point of the day the grand stands at 18 are not yet full They have been getting increasingly uh more populated as uh as the morning has gone on but you know that when Tom Watson approaches that green moments from now they will uh they will let him know how much they appreciate this opening round performance Here’s Tiger now for par And I would not think that this putt has a lot of movement in it Maybe just inside the left corner or right on that left corner Yeah you don’t often see Tiger miss those That was a brilliant up and down from where he was And here we are at 18 59 years old And he would be if this holds up he would be the oldest player to lead a major after the first round [Applause] Sam was 54 and that was the PGA championship in 66 Let’s listen [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] Just as you talked about the Scottish crowds respect their champions That’s for sure Wow I don’t know if it deserves a flyby but uh a nice first day You know I think it does You may be right And you talk about the respect that the fans have You know we’re at dinner last night and Tom Wiskoff who will be with us later in the day uh someone sitting near us sees you and and Tom and who’s almost to tears in appreciation for what you have meant to the game with as champions And you see that wherever you go here as we move to number 12
David Hall second here at the 12th hanging on in the bunker Just thinking about Tom Watson guys You know his exemption as a winner runs out next year he’ll be at St Andrews next year Not if he wins this year Keeps on playing Correct Steuart sink from the fairway [Music] They may have to rethink that Terry That age limit of 60 if players in their 50s continue to play so well Lee Westwood now on the T of 14
Yeah Two bunkers down the left hand side Players cannot see but the bunker down the right is the aiming point Just inside that Westwood with a fairway medal You like the swing right now Billy I really like the swing Terry You know this is probably as um a swing that’s been in rhythm for Lee Westwood that I’ve seen And you know couple wins you know on the European tour a couple or a win a couple weeks ago at the French Open You know everything is working in his favor and this might be you know the year that he finally gets a major championship
Yeah Came close at the French Open Played pretty well Scottish Open and now Tiger at one under You see Westwood playing very well Only two drivers up to this point Terry just tried to hit this low stinger time and time again and this has been the miss today I think he’s past it I think he’s ahead of the ball a little bit and that’s why it’s squeezing out to the right
Yeah it’s almost like the transition is so fast it’s almost like the back swing is not being completed Ian
Yeah that’s a good point Moments ago at the 18th Sergio’s third delicate actually played that very well from the long fescue the wispy grass there It’s about 3 foot long in places And now Tom Watson will have a birdie look here at the 18th A bogey-free round to this point All threes and fours on the inward nine Also in this group uh with Sergio and Tom is Mattio Manacero the the young British amter champion just 16 years of age young Italian And uh I guess he’ll be thinking now that this man 43 years he’s senior is not a bad player You have to wonder what’s going through his mind And you’ve got in the Tiger group uh Yo Ishikawa the 17-year-old Japanese player who who said this week he he’s just thrilled anytime Tiger mentions his name in a press conference Here’s Tom Watson with his birdie look This is a similar putt to the one Greg Norman held earlier [Applause] Uh so some work coming back on the par 418th That will be for par in what has been a grand start for Tom Watson Jim Huber is also with us He’s with Steve Stricker Jim
this has been a dizzying month and a half for you hasn’t it It’s uh it’s been busy but a a good kind of busy
Absolutely Two wins in the last five weeks including a a marathon victory last weekend at the John Deere then you hop on a a charter and get over here Have you had time to just sort of stop and think and smell the roses
Uh not really You know after after winning at John Deere on Sunday I was able to spend maybe a half hour 20 minutes with my family and then uh off to get onto that plane
Right You’re you asked a little while ago what Tom Watson was doing behind you Uh it’s really kind of remarkable to any any of you guys right No doubt about it And we were fortunate enough to play right in front of him today So a few holes we could stop and watch and and see what he was doing And we’d hear the roars go up when he made a birdie and stuff like that But it’s uh uh I think he’s almost 60 you were telling me And uh it’s a remarkable feat And to still be playing this kind of golf when you’re that old is pretty cool Back to Steve Stricker The conditions were perfect for you today though
They were great it Um you know the wind never blew Uh the course is in great shape Uh you could be fairly aggressive into the greens They were holding still pretty pretty well but it’s overall it was a great day
Good playing Keep it up
Thank you
Thanks Steve And so you hear not just the respect the fans have but for the fellow players for Steve Stricker to say “Yeah there were times where we could kind of stand and watch
and uh in awe.”
Yep Now here is the 16-year-old So like Sergio missing a par putt and the last par putt of this group belongs to Tom Watson Matteo Manisero 71
Yeah he would have loved to have made that to shoot par in his first open Makes such a difference Look at him He’s almost crying Imagine doing this at 16 on this stage Now Watson for par for a bogey free round of 65 Go ahead Stand up at home and do it too They’re standing here Unbelievable round of golf The youngest in the field and the oldest in the field right there shaking hands And the fivetime champion shoots 65 to lead the Open Championship [Applause] And day one is just getting started folks We’ll be back with much much more after this You’ll often on day one do not adjust your sets He leads the field at five under as we are early in the first round at the 17th Now here’s VJ Boy would he love to have an open victory to his resume He’s got the Masters in the PGA to his credit and solid opening day to 14 And remember Tiger in trouble at 14 a moment ago This his third now Billy Well just outside 95 yards Terry Well he’s decided to go upstairs with it There it comes Look at that And Ian he talked about the fact that it’s not that you can’t play through the air on Lyn’s courses but it gives you the option of playing along the ground or in the air many times
Exactly And and the way this course is set up uh you can play that way Take a look at that 45 under cumulatively You see the 37 over at the US Open though That’s the difference The way they set up the US Open Matthew Gagget second shot at the par 412 Three under par so far [Applause] Out in three under 32 And that’s after starting with a bogey at the opening hole today Now Westwood this for birdie
now from 40 ft coming across the green We’ll move to his right all the way to the hole And you can tell when a guy is sincere He talked about really looking forward to playing in this group with Tiger Woods all the attention that it brings and young Yoya Shikawa who brings as much attention at least the first two days this week from Japan And I mean out there watching his practice rounds every shot that he took the last three days the clicks of the camera you could hear them across the course
It’s sort of every step he takes every day of his life he’s uh scrutinized
Won a tournament at the age of 15 Now he’s only 17
Incredible If you’ve been out on the PGA Tour really any sport lately and watched any of the athletes from Japan the attention on the top athletes it’s it’s top level I mean it’s like being Tiger Woods
And I don’t know if uh if there’s a more aggressive player in the field There’s only been a couple of occasions today where he’s actually gone with an iron off the tea He’s pretty much hit the driver all day long off the tea
No fear 17 Opportunity missed Ian Is that something though playing here for the first time he may learn some other choices and not to be so aggressive
Correct and and playing with more the more he plays with great players and sees how they use the strategy around a great golf course like this the better he’ll become at doing that But at 17 you are aggressive You don’t have that baggage in the back of your mind of the the times you’ve messed up by hitting a driver when you shouldn’t have Hello [Applause] Par on the scorecard That’s all that counts Four off the lead of Tom Watson right now Yeah Watch this Use every part of that hole [Applause] That could very easily have just popped out that front edge
You know it entered from the right side
Just took a trip around the hole first That’s 17 now VJ or his birdie to pull within a shot of the lead VJ disappointed not to make birdie here It’s uh very reachable today for him Just 560 yards It’s a blind layup If you do hit it in the rough you have to lay up short of the hill
It’s a difficult third shot from underneath that hill Elsa Craig 10 11 miles in the distance in the fth of Clyde and a good view of it today Weatherwise you couldn’t ask for better conditions and no wind Tom Watson leads at five under by a stroke over Steve Stricker David Howell John Senden Tom Watson in fact standing by When we come back from our break he’ll be talking to Jim Huber about round one at the Open Championship Back at 12 Matthew Gaga now playing very well here on this opening day this to get it to four under to 13 we go
And the second shot of David Howell Got the same shoes on as Matthew Gogggin Only a fashion guy You would notice that clothes horse Oh nicely done there Beautiful shot That’s the ideal position Just get it into the middle of the green there It’s no no no bunkers surrounding 13 green Looks innocuous enough but that plateau effect really makes it difficult to get it close there
He’ll have that for a share of the lead Meanwhile at the 15th Lee Westwood par three playing 197 today
Yeah I was going to say great really great par three this one Unusual green quite sloping [Applause] Let us take a look at the Travelers Golf Tracks for the 15th hole here at Turnberry
Yeah I absolutely love this hole As you can see slight elevated tee there You fire out Make sure you hit it at least 180 yards Otherwise you’ll lose your ball that’s so thick there If you do miss it to the right it’s almost impossible to get it up and down Hence everyone will go to the left side of this right hole location And uh the deep bunker at the front there is very difficult about 8t deep and two lovely little pot bunkers back left and back center there Sloping green as well
All the holes here at Turnberry have nicknames and and that one Kakani meaning take care at the 15th
Mhm That’s uh good advice
There’s Tiger No that’s a six iron for Tiger Oh is this an aggressive line right at the flag if it’s enough Go a little No not quite That’s that that front slope the scoloped out front of the green here It came back a good five or six yards there Billy So uh tough up and down there for Tiger at the par three You take a look at the leaderboard and Tom Watson at the top the fivetime open champion with a 65 to lead by one And uh he is standing by with Jim Huber Jim
thanks EJ Shades of 1977 Does it feel like old times again Well the the body is uh a little bit older then but the uh the enthusiasm out there today was very similar It was a it’s a wonderful day to play Uh there’s very little wind and course is obvious obviously defenseless All the scores are going to be underpart A lot of scores underpart today because of that But um yeah that’s is it’s a good beginning round for me and I’m uh uh the winds ought to pick up a little bit tomorrow afternoon according to the weather forecast So that you know that’s going to uh she’ll have some teeth in her uh tomorrow So I’m I’m looking forward to that This was your lowest opening round in an open championship Um how do you how do you explain that at almost 60 At almost 60 I think a lot of it had to do with the weather You you see the scores today I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody shot better than than 65 today I wouldn’t be surprised at all
Right Um talk about this trophy and what it has meant to you over the years You’ve got five of these at home and three senior open champions
You know it’s u I’ve had a pretty good hall over here I’ve played play some of my best golf over here and I’ve always enjoyed the I’ve always enjoyed the the challenge of trying to get the ball close to the hole uh in the windy conditions bouncing the ball getting close getting close to the hole You know the the greens are firm and the and the fairways are firm and and when you add the wind to it it uh uh you that ball just doesn’t stop right by the hole You have to kind of filter it in there and uh you play away from the hole a few times
Lynx golf is a great equalizer right among men You you can play with any age in the link
I’ I’ve said that uh about my ability to play against the kids I I can’t play against the kids against at Augusta National is just too soft and the golf course is too soft and it’s too long I I I’m hitting the wrong clubs into the holes Uh but I’ve said on Lynx golf courses uh I can get it out there and get get the ball rolling I uh I kept it in play very well today Had uh basically missed one green that the 14th hole and the rest of them I was putting for pars
We’ve got birdies We’ve got four more or three more rounds to go Um can you keep this up
Uh who knows Why not right
Who knows
This would be a nice sixth edition
I could use one of those Absolutely Congratulations
I’m not being greedy either
I understand Great play Tom Congratulations
Thank you Jim
EJ
All right Thank you very much Jim And to Tom and and the way he said the course was defenseless today And that’s the thing about the Open Championship Um you never know when the course is going to fire a haymaker in the next day That’s right We’ll see But he certainly took advantage of these ideal conditions That’s how it should be That the weather should be what causes the high scores not whole locations or how many times you rolled the greens You know that this is how it should be This is Tiger now This a moment ago at the 15th Well had to contend with that huge mound on the right hand side Had maybe a 10-in circle that he could land that in to really get it close to the hole Now Lee Westwood for birdie at the 15th coming down the hill Just a little bit of turn in it Boy that’s a good birdie there He is within one of the lead David Howell missed his birdie putt at the 13th and the Stewart sink in that same group All right a birdie down on his card at the par4 410 yardd 13th Quickly back to Tom Watson He shot 65 in his second round here at Turnberry in 1994 He uh was right up there with a chance to win here in 94 obviously loves this golf course having won here in 77 and that 65 today is the lowest round since then So in the last 15 years that’s uh his lowest round at the open since that 65 at Turnbury and you heard him say that he wouldn’t be surprised to see somebody go lower than 65 if the day stays like this in terms of weather conditions Here’s Tiger now with his par putt at the 15th [Music] Quite a good swing on this from left to right [Music] We talked about the difficult nature of that uh of that up and down from where he was and uh it costs him You could also see by how difficult that ship was that had the sixiron gone a yard or two more it would have fed all the way into the hole So it was only let’s say a couple of yards from being close for birdie Camila Bejacus at the 17th and a chance to get it to three under I’ve never been to Colombia but I wonder if they have any golf courses like this in South America I doubt it Wouldn’t be too many links courses would there I do not think so Now Yoishikawa and this for birdie for the 17year-old How good is that Two birdies in a bogey And a quick step [Applause] to the 15th and uh quitting himself quite well
Boy is he ever
I thought it was amusing too Tiger was asked in his press conference what it was going to be like playing with the the young Japanese player Um and uh you know was there going to be a whole lot of by plays and it’s going to be very quiet and probably has been the case Heavy stuff for a 17year-old to uh to be right there in that group that everybody has their eye on
What if he goes on to to beat Tiger in in this first round which he is at the moment He’s one in front of him huge accomplishment It’s a very nice hole the 16th It’s obviously new this year Terry you’ve you’ve explained it And now the the dog leg right instead of the straightaway
Yeah they actually moved the entire fairway left to create that and took the uh the fill and put it right and created mounds on the right hand side You want to stay away from those But uh what do you think of the changes
Oh I like them I thought the 16th before the green is is was the hole It was uh really a a long iron or a fairway wood and a short iron to a plateau green surrounded by the burn or you know the front of the green was the burn Now with the fairway over to the left it brings the burn into play more as a lateral hazard as well It’s it’s it’s a brutal hole now Now Westwood you know just trying to hit a low metal and finds the fairway which is not easy to do when the wind is blowing And they played the British amter here and guys were barely reaching into with fairway medals But today as benign as it is windwise shouldn’t be a problem Here’s Ishikawa And Terry as many times as he’s taken out the either the three medal or the driver he’s actually driven the ball quite well Even though he’s kind of caught the first cut of rough a few times but uh his ball has pretty much been in play all day long Very high ball flight [Applause] Yeah it’s going to well the first intermediate cut which is about six yards wide In fact they they made that wider because they wanted balls to be in play and be able to take a shot at the green with your approach shot
Yeah good point All right Tiger getting set What a picture that is huh
Turn Bay and Lighthouse Let’s see if he can melt the back swing with the down swing See if the transition can be just a little bit smoother and maybe
or stopped
a photographer or two You think I’d hate to guess at the number of photogs out here Terry I could I bet I couldn’t guess within a hundred That one’s pretty good right there And well positioned Die Indeed Let’s take a look at some of the major changes to the 16th hole And to do that Ian Baker Finch Believe it or not I’m standing in the old 16th fairway down here They’ve scoloped out the old fairway lifted it up and made helix over here to my left and turned the hole into a dog leg right Used to be just a straightaway short par four but they added 45 yds Repositioned the bunkers to the left and to the right here to make it a dog leg right But the main feature on this hold is the wee burn The burn that runs in front of the green It has to be carried You have to fire over it no matter where you drive it But it also brings it in now as more of a lateral hazard to the side of the green That’s what made this hole so much more difficult In a southerntherly wind the players will be hitting drivers from the tea maybe long irons and woods for their second shots If the wind blows from the other direction they can fire it down towards the left hand bunker and then just a short iron in to a rather large green I feel the wind though is predominantly out of the south this week It’s going to be a real brute at 455 into the breeze Hold on to your hats And uh thankfully for the field they haven’t had to hold on to their hats because there’s been no breeze today But you see that Wilson’s burn down there Not very wide but uh it doesn’t need to be
That’s a very steep bank around that green isn’t it Terry It’s uh so easy for those balls to feed back in
Yeah the Wii burn is not so wee when you’re in it See it’s the most difficult hole today back in 94 in that final round And I know some other things are different too but it was only the 12th most difficult hole So those changes with the fairway certainly making it much more difficult 247 yards longer at Turnberry overall So it’s a par 70 remember 7200 yards and 20 new bunkers all pretty much in play off the tea or at least that’s the design
Yes
Yeah They they’ve done a good job with the changes They really have And Terry the the biggest change they made was 16 17 18 because they always felt this was a lovely golf course They added 135 yards to those final three holes Added some bunkers changed the routing of 16 but they wanted to make it a tougher finish and they’ve accomplished that
VJ’s third at the finishing hole They will have that to stay at three under to 14 and Steuart Sink with his second shot And that’s what the players have talked about all week how difficult once you do get past that first cut of rough coming up short in the bunker Maybe the most the characteristic that they have really had on their minds the last couple of days during the practice rounds how thick this rough is that challenge Now VJ for his par at the 18th 67 day one two back [Applause] So two top fives at the open championship but 12 top 25s over the years He’s been uh there or thereabouts Would he love to hold that clar jug on Sunday night as would everyone in the field Even Tom Watson said he could do with another He’s already got five Was to give Harry Varden a little company there with six
They’re at 16 The second for Westwood Just a slightly uphill lie 184 yards to the hole but once again has to be looking left of the flag stick No just lost this to the right This has no chance [Music] Same place we saw Grant McDow earlier Now once you head in that direction very little chance that you can save it from the burn And remember Westwood just one off the lead right now No but he has been like that and that’s been his game up and down Very little consistency
Mhm He correct his lows have been very low
Yes Here’s Tiger
Yeah just a couple yards closer All this one’s lost to the right also Oh
that has no chance
Oh that’s a bad mistake there
Yeah And both had an uphill line and both had a actually a lie that would kind of induce a pull
So you think it’s the effort to try to counter that
Could be You know that’s a good point Uh but certainly if you’re going to miss I mean you can’t afford to do what they just did
Correct And there’s such a steep bank on the left that feeds it back into the green Even if you pull it 40 ft left you’re better off than being 10t right That’s so uncharacteristic of Tiger He nearly always steers away from the severe trouble Take you all the way back to the first Ernie Ellis his day just beginning and his second at what is the shortest par4 on the course 1258 starting time Ernie El’s Lucas Glover and the young German Martin Kimmer who’s been playing some great golf
backto- back wins and an early chance for El’s as it’s And smooth sailing today for Tom Watson at least Bogey free round of 65 Uh others in hot pursuit just a stroke back It’s day one [Music] Now what does your family do on a Saturday night Get them together for the new season premiere of the Bill Envall Show Saturday at 9:00 uh Eastern and 8 Central only on TBS Very funny Uh not the same cannot be said for the situation that uh Tiger and and Westwood are in as we go back to 16 Well Bill finished third in 77 here right Didn’t he
He was good that year Yeah that was by the way the golf ball of uh it’s still traveling Tiger Woods Lee Westwood and um so they are they Westwood’s going to be on the T at 17 That’s his closest point his best option right now Correct Billy
Well it’s a it’s an option he has chosen Terry certainly he could go down to a flat area that’s going to be you know just a little bit short of the green but it’s such an awkward yardage and coming over that little crown that mound would be an almost impossible shot So what he’s elected to do is go back to the new T at 17 put the ball in play It’s going to be a full shot of maybe 80 maybe just outside 80 yards He’s going to be able to spin it maybe take it beyond the hole and and drag it back down the hill
So you say it’s his best option Do you like that decision
I love that decision
Yeah I I do Just for the people at home you you don’t just say “Oh you know I think I’ll drop it up there on the tea.” The rule is where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard he must keep that point in a straight line with the flag So he’s got to go back on that line but he can go as far as he likes
At the 18th Camila Bach that ball listened to him That’s outstanding He’s going to tap in for 66 All right Now Westwood on the tee at 17 but not playing 17 Is fourth at 16 Hang on All right Well done Uphill putt for what would be a bogey now Tiger’s ball carried further and so it’s a different angle different option for Tiger
Well Terry he’s actually had to go to the old T at 17 and uh he you can see that he’s tried to squeeze back or squeeze over to the far right hand side get as far away from the hole as he possibly can In fact he’s given himself maybe just a little bit of a slightly uphill lie but maybe 18 ft of green to work with from this angle Very hard shot Nice Hard for the mere mortal And now Tiger trying to save Bogey That bridge by the way you do not get free relief if the ball comes to rest over most of that bridge There are portions where you you might but uh if you don’t want to incur a penalty you’ve got to play it off of there Meanwhile back at the first and Lucas Glover the US Open champion this for birdie
and he’s played well the last three weeks since the US Open victory as well continued that fine play Well you saw the fine second shot at 18 by Bejacuson now to convert and move within a shot of the lead [Applause] 66 Played well in second round last year at Royal Burkedale as well finishing with five birdies in a row remember some good scoring here on Lynx Golf Young man that won the Colombian Amateur Championship at the age of 17 before coming over to the States to go to University of Florida Coming off a par just a moment ago David Hull at 15 And that is big time trouble Yes especially with that right hand hole location today That’s tough Now here’s Ernie and this for a birdie right out of the gate It’s an easy opening hole See a lot of birdies here today [Music] But not there The open champion in 2002 at Mirfield Also a couple of US Opens to his credit and not the start he would have wished for with a golden opportunity for birdie Now back to 16/17 at least for this group
Ishikawa missed his birdie putt So Westwood now with a bogey putt coming Now Billy you followed Tiger Woods and and those groups many times How different is this one with Ishikawa in it and all the photographers Well you know certainly the amount of people has not changed but uh you know I think I think the fact that you know Tiger looks at this young player and he kind of kind of looks back a few years and he kind of sees himself because this is Chicago you know he has some kind of game I mean he’s going to be around for a long time and he fears nothing But it’s just been a great great little uh pairing and it’s been very conversational
Westwood for bogey They made a mistake earlier on seven Terry the par five where he made bogey and now six here These two holes that kind of run parallel with one another and back to two under fourth back in 2004 and now two off the lead here on day one And Tiger taking a a long look at this Has about the last maybe third of the putt that he just saw from Isakawa There’s really not a lot of movement in it Terry And on these greens you can be firm right Billy I mean Open championship greens You’re not even thinking about the stimp meter
No And you know you look at the corners of the greens You look at the corners especially here at 16 You know there’s a lot of mounting and there’s a lot of movement on the corners and kind of at the edges but uh pretty much in the center there’s not a lot of movement in the putts and not a lot of trickiness about it
for bogey All right It’s pretty good save there Ian Very good save He had to do that It’s uh probably nothing Tiger hates more than double bogeies in the burn over to 17T Saves Bogey He’ll go back to 17T and so will Lee Westwood So uh they’ll be there Couple of holes left for Tiger Woods Leela Westwood and Yoi Shikawa here The opening round of the 138th Open Championship Tom Watson It’s not Bubba Watson up there That’s Tom Watson at the age of 59 Five under with a one-shot lead and looking for three in a row Harrington getting set Back at the Open Championship 138th edition from Turnberry Tom Watson turning back the clock with a 65 the leader in the clubhouse And Tiger Woods off the bogey at 16 on the T at 17 Has to come up with a good drive here Yep Only the third driver he’s hit That’s got to be going right
Yeah way right
He was stuck inside on that one And Ian he you know it’s just the inability to melt the back swing and the down swing the transition the allimportant transition He just looks like he’s getting the inside quarter of the ball but he’s not allowing the release through with the hands and the right shoulder Watch this Now he comes down really nicely to the inside but sort of almost like he’s on the inside and then he just swings out and up He’s not getting the rotation mixed in with with the uh attack angle or position The fairways hit statistic can always be difficult to make something out of because as you know it can just roll into that light rough many times and you’ve actually driven the ball well Now Westwood off his double at the 16th Well and to me Ian this swing looks like it’s got a lot of time in it There’s no hurried motion
That’s a good point It’s certainly You can almost see the club stop at the top of the back swing Very good rhythm Tiger bringing up the rear in that threesome here on day one Now David Howell in some trouble at the 15th You saw his his T-shot this earlier his second Well short and right That’s a a very poor T-shot today And he’s still in that junk Monty shot on the first at the opening hole And
he’s been in the papers a lot this week Off here today And we’ll be discussing that as time goes on Little uh BBC coming through there I heard the heard the voice of Wayne Grady Steuart s the 15th [Applause] You would have to think Stuart Sink would win at least one major in his career As good a player as he is as good as he’s been at every level throughout the game I’d be surprised if he didn’t He is just one off the pace here on Thursday at the Open Okay just joining us Tom Watson Ogie Free round of 65 Mark Calaveia who’s a former open champion himself 20 years ago at Trun a 67 First group out at 6:30 this morning Ross Fischer who had such a solid United States Open at one under Boo Weekley is at one under He’s been playing in pain taking cortisone shots for his labum That’s not good
He says “I’m just going to keep on playing until until somebody runs out of cortisone.” But he’s he’s here
Jim Furick there grinding it out on the practice range And let us go down to Jim Huber
with Camila Vijas with a four under par 67 to or 66 to start this open championship That’s a great start for you
I did I play well Weather conditions were perfect out there but still I mean you’re playing British Open it’s a major it’s tough and the rough is high and but my main focus was not to hit in the pot bunkers off the tea and uh I did a good job with that and didn’t hit it in them today and uh and just got a little hot there toward the end
I can’t imagine coming from Colombia that you would have much experience with Lynx golf
Had a chance to play a couple British amateurs and then uh last year was my first British Open so not too much experience I loved it last year Sure I had a great round my my second round and always always look forward to come and play this style of golf and uh it’s a great championship
You put yourself in perfect position for the rest of the week now Well we got a lot of golf to be played but uh yes I had a great round today and put myself in a good position to come back tomorrow and keep it up and look looking forward to it
Congratulations Great play Keep it up
You got it Tied for 13th at the Masters tied for 33 at the US Open at Camila Vagus And a solid first round as we uh catch up with Tiger at the 17th Bill
and Ernie Ian these are the breaks you need his ball resting where the gallery is He’s he has 287 yards 252 you know to the front But but to get to catch this kind of break in I mean you know 5t left of this and you know he’s taking a wedge and just trying to get it over this cross bunker
That’s right Yeah Get it over that cross bunker and then fire in with some sort of mid to short iron But this green as well you say he’s got just over 250 to the front But if he lands at 30 yards short of that there’s another down slope that’ll shoot it forward onto that green So he can if he flies the two bunkers that are side by side on the right If he can fly them there’s a little ridge and he can actually kick this up onto the green Boy that’s a good break Oh he just puffed it up to the right This is a pop up to the right Wow
Just inside the gallery on the right And I don’t know if he got out of the the tall grass or not
It didn’t look like it from here Once again Billy from coming from the inside and steep ahead you know like past the ball on that swing please See
there trying to work it out He always does that as he walks away trying to figure it out before the next one always the same on the way back Pure on plane and then here I think he’s just past it and on the inside and it’s and he’s a lot more up and out with his follow through today on those bad ones than he is normally a little bit more around and right shoulder high Now Westwood’s second at the longest hole here at Turnberry from 266 yards This going towards the right hand bunker They really made this a much more difficult par five Now it used to be on a day like this the majority of the field would be able to run it up there on the green with their second Now back at the second Ernie Ells obviously has had a great record in this event Trying to get back to that form though All right so a little tap in for Ernie just getting his day underway What a day it’s been Sunshine Anytime you can say that you’ve seen the sun here it’s a sunny day that qualifies and we’ve seen a lot of it But no snide remarks from any of us about Scotland’s weather today It is absolutely perfect and I’m sure Peter Alice will be thankful for that when he joins us in just a moment Over from the BBC I’m Watson your leader Tiger is steamed at the 17th What’s he got now Bill has 115 yards to the hole but he’s just going to go into the to the heather here and just try to thrash it out And I guess the good news is got plenty of pretty big opening here And from this angle it’s just a matter of if he’s able to judge it right I mean does it come out slow Does it come out quick But you better have some forearms like Tiger to get this one all the way to the flag stick Pretty
clean hit Needs to get up
Scooped it up high
Okay
Yeah he didn’t unfortunately
Yeah Boy you hear the ratat of those shutters down there in this group About an hour and a half into our seven hours plus of coverage here on TNT Ernie Johnson Ian Baker Finch You heard Bill Katzert You heard Jim Huber with his interviews Judy Ranken will be on the course momentarily and uh Terry Ganon now joined by Peter Alice Peter thanks for being with us again
I’m delighted to be here on this rather grand day and watching the play Interesting morning’s play here at Turnby I’ve been fascinated watching Tiger Woods because I think he you probably end up with a score around about par or whatever and he hasn’t played very well but criticizing Tigers rather like saying Muhammad telling Muhammad Ali how to box or Fedra how to serve but uh he has done some weird and wonderful things today and got away with it That’s about the fourth time he’s been way offline and found a decent line or found his ball and he’s got he’s going to play absolute rubbish by his standards today and still be sort of in the hunt which is which is what he does seemingly uh quite often It’s amazing this fell’s had ch the 16th hole has sort them out hasn’t it It’s been uh interesting that they still attack the flag instead of just playing for the green Attack and defend It’s an old saying but you’ve got to work it out for yourself
Tiger does it usually pretty well but Westwood’s been very impressive today And there’s been some wonderful ball striking and of course the weather’s been superb Hardly a breath of wind so if you can’t do a good score today uh you’re in trouble But uh Tiger would be around about 71 something like that which isn’t the end of the world
Here’s Westwood playing one of these little He’s got an awkward shot here just over the corner there of the bump
Yeah that little corner Peter You know once you get over that little corner then there’s a little ridge that kind of runs right in front of the hole It’s going to toss the ball to the left
Speed is very important here Just landing it also in the right spot No it slowed down So they’re not gobbling up this par five Northern Ireland Rory Mroy the announcement at the first tea of very popular Rory Mroy in Northern Ireland He’s 20 years old playing in his second open but first as a professional that is right down the center Ian thank you Judy from USA Anthony couple of young guns in this group Judy you’ll be having fun today
yes for sure and then the third Ratif Gen is has become an elder Statesman at least for one round We’ve got these two and of course the young Italian boy who won our amateur championship a few weeks ago 16 years of age We got the Japanese who’s what 17 So getting younger and younger Yes But we have a 59y old leading
I know that’s makes you brings us back to reality or normality That’s a good drive too
From South Africa Reten He must feel he almost needs a walking frame or something to go around with these two fellas today That’s right Yeah they’re a lot younger 20 and 240 I still enjoy watching him play though don’t you He’s got a lovely rhythm and balance and lazy power He’s had two or three chances to win over the last few weeks he’s been playing in the European tour and he’s come apart at the seams in the middle of the last round on both two occasions It’s a gentle opening hole Peter isn’t it For championship golf
to get started Well you know if it’s not blowing so St Andrews so is Trun Lithams and Dan starts with a long path three You know path three is not usually monsters We look at Colin Montgomery is getting his fair share of headlines over the last two or three days
Going to ask you about that Peter What do you make of you know bringing this up from four years ago of his and Sandy Lyle kind of going back and forth
Yes it’s very unfortunate because it’s golf really isn’t a game like that But you know what they say you can call a person anything but a cheat at golf It doesn’t And and if you have a misdeed demeanor it stays with you for a long time
Here at the eighth third shot for Matt Cooer currently three under two off the lead to Tom Watson who as we said is 59 years of age And Peter you’ve been a part of this Open Championship for that same amount of time
Yeah
Yes It’s the 59th time I’ve turned up Started when I was 16 years of age But this is uh Tiger’s way of playing the 17th way over to the right hand side and uh sort of popped up his second shot with a fivewood trying to hit a a high fade up the left side maybe trying to get it up to short of the green and then his third from the very deep rough Found a surface but didn’t bounce forwards Needed another couple of yards on that third shot with our golf tracks Always very good at showing us how to play a hole or perhaps how not to play a hole
Yeah And through all of that here is a birdie attempt for Tiger Bit more pace might have done it So here’s day one over par here 70 It’s it doesn’t seem very strict on a day like this but when the wind blows it’s a false par 70 When the wind really blows you’re delighted with a 72 which is the normal par on a big championship course Untidy homewood run by his standards That’s what he’s done in previous years First round where he’s won the championship So a bit behind schedule And you would think with the conditions as they are today that certainly numbers like that were within reach
Oh certainly he would have been expecting something in the mid60s There’s Rory Mroy at the first
That second shot 139 yards Played it with just a little nine iron very mature for his such a young age Westward now for his birdie at the 17th Well I would think at most on the corner short of pace He’s had a strange round got away to a tremendous start and then there’s nothing really happened in the middle and then a mistake at the 16th back here in the first fairway and Anthony Kim
So you have Go ahead Judy Excuse me Not too big of a problem but the ball below his feet He’s just caught a a little bit of a ridge in the fairway Ball below his feet and on a pretty good uphill slope from 130 yards Eric Larsson in his caddy there just jumping in and saying “Hang on a second Little bit of breeze here.” And that little bit of breeze feels as though it’s come back down from the green So playing just a touch longer He’s put a pitching wedge back in the bag Little nine iron See this is a dangerous flag I think And all the players today oh I’ve got to go for the flag I’ve got to attack attack And sometimes it gets you into trouble like that Although that should be simple enough but why not the middle of the green A lot of greens here are quite small Get away to a nice start
Don’t put yourself under pressure early in the piece And now Tiger on the tea at the finishing hole
You have to make one good swing to finish the round That might have been his best swing Yeah good safe position from the T Well thought out We’ll see him on the practice range after this that’s for sure I wonder what he’s thinking What might have been or do you think he’s thinking about those three or four bad swings He’s got lots to think about Westwood’s been playing well over the last few weeks He’s an interesting he’s just he’s always played this way but he’s just slowed everything down a little bit And there’s a just before he takes the club back there’s oh one or two or three seconds now before he takes the club back and gets right through He a good drive of the ball as a good shot All right in the fairways we take you back to eight and coocher Now this for par to remain at three under He came through the qualifying rounds didn’t he If I remember rightly he did very well to struggle to get here
He’ll drop one here Tap in pars take you back to the first and Ratif Gusenby Chance awaits the two-time US Open champion
Playing in his 15th Open Championship this week as we come back to 16 now Coocher with a bogey a moment ago should have said sink now for birdie As you said Peter this is a hole that has uh been very tough on the field so far
Yeah you must play wherever wherever the flag is You want to play middle left of this green You got 40 50 ft to the left of the hole and the green slopes down a little bit You might get a bit of spin and bounce and end up close
Well Westwood Tiger walking up to the fairway Their second shots at 18 Mr Alice great to be alongside you I’m going to step aside You take over for a while
Well that’s very kind of you and I look forward to being with you all next week as well
Ernie Ian see you in a little bit guys In just a moment here at the 138th Open Championship at Turnberry [Music] Second shot for Tiger at the 18th This from 210 yards Numerous times he’s left himself outside 200 yds on this inward nine And this a five iron Beautiful golf shot Excellent play Maybe the two best swings he’s made on this inward nine Ian might have figured it out there with those couple of poor ones at 17 I’ve just sort of said “Come on Tiger You know how to do it.” Back at the first try for Ratif Gusen This area right around the hole must be uh one of the flattest areas on the golf course where a hole is located today Tap in for Retif at the first at the home hole Lee Westwood
Perfectly positioned off the tee 186 yds to the hole What a grip That’s perfect
Absolutely Watch the balance Ian Seven iron straight up in the air just right of the flag He gets the knob Gets the knob Oh nearly Just a tad more and that would feed a little more left and down towards the hole but still a good shot So Westwood who began the day with three straight birdies has a birdie look at the 18th to try to finish the day at three under 67 And now you should file 171 yards far right hand side of the fairway And okay give me a grade on the 17y old Bill Well certainly an A I don’t know if I can uh you know I’d like to give him an A+ Uh but certainly an A I mean this is this has been an outstanding round When you think about being paired with the number one player in the world and you’re 17 years old all that’s been written
all that’s been said all the cameras clicking
Pretty amazing to me He does not He does not flinch out here Ian
No there’s no flinch there As I said before at 17 though you don’t have much baggage with you You’ve uh just got that nice aggressive freewheeling style I’d give him an A+ today I think being a couple under par playing with Tiger is an excellent start for the young fella Cr is a tough graater And back at the first Rory Mroy for birdie So that will be for par and then Anthony Kim Anthony Kim also made his par out of the bunker there at the first It’s good up and down So three pars there for that group And here’s the walk up 18 [Applause] Three times an open champion 2000 2005 2006 Shika dreaming of perhaps one day being able to match the feats of Tiger Woods his idol And Lee Westwood is uh probably disappointed at this point in his career that he hasn’t got a major but his game’s in such good shape and he’s in such good shape now I believe he’s got some good years still ahead maybe this week Second shot at the 17th now for David Howell Peter good to see David How playing well this week
Yeah he’s had a miserable time and that went straight to ground in there too He’s been injured He had neck problems wrist problems and lost confidence This is a par five You can see he’s 40 50 out short of the green in bad rough So it’s to hang on He can finish 68 or so That’ll be a good score Shot 31 going out is within a shot of the lead Stands at two under now Go back to the 18th about 25 ft for Ishika for birdie and the mounding over to the right side of the green about midway in the green in U No it appears as though it’s going to move the ball from right to left And I’ll go ahead if he makes this you can just go ahead and put a plus and another plus to the right All right Okay 57 140 lbs the 17year-old recently won the Mazuno Open and uh had some great assistance from the famous Japanese player Jumbo Ozaki and his in his preparation here for Turnbury Jumbo had him out hitting about 600 bunker shots he said uh trying to get him to play them the correct way It was nicknamed the bash for prince Good aggressive putt there though Very close Now here’s Ian Poulter Robinson Holloway who’s uh feeds us so much valuable information reports also that uh that Ian had had been on Twitter and tweeted a picture of his outfit so everyone knew what he would look like as he showed up here today
You were you were twittering earlier today were you not Peter
No I wasn’t I confess I was not We’ve only just got gas at my house so I’m not ready for the Twitter Natural gas
No no no Don’t be silly Old lamps Westwood’s putt a little right to left and uh quite quick as it comes around that knob in the back of the green that shoulder in the back center of the green Oh that break was right at the beginning That went left quick All right 68 three off the pace right now set by Tom Watson who said uh there was some spirituality out there today He said just the serenity of the day was quote pretty neat Bogey free 65 to lead the open championship
It’s a good opening round for Westwood though the two sixes on the card at 16 and seven Very good opening round Should be confident and feeling good about himself Now this would take the sting out of uh what at times has been a or some of the sting at least out of a painful day for Tiger
Yeah To get back to even We’ve seen him hold a few pretty good putts on the 18th greens over the years This putt coming up the hill Um as he was looking at it you could he He appears to be looking maybe six 6 to8 in outside left Certainly one he can be aggressive with going slightly back up Yeah he was aiming too far left Bill He was surprised that that actually went a little left at the end
Yeah he kind of wiggled right at the end
You can see him shaking his head [Applause] He’s still having another look at that He can’t believe that read Let’s take a little look at this and see where he started it Yeah as Billy said probably about 6 in out It just it actually fell a quarter of a ball to the left there as it pulled up speed So disappointing finish there for Tiger Woods doubtful he’ll be talking about the serenity of the day as Watson was and Yo Ishikawa well done matches Westwood 68 just breezed it in 17 years of age young star from Japan [Applause] 71 for Tiger and a pair of 68s is Chicago and Westwood to the fourth and early at the fourth and it I think gravity took over there but a foot from the hole it was nowhere near and then suddenly it disappeared How did that happen Ernie seems to take it all in his stride Well we’re at Turnby and look at that for a a calm sea Would you believe it More like Monte Carlo than Turnby Watson’s leading the way What a man there Uh and what a beautiful beautiful site that is across the fth of Clyde Island of Isisle of Aaron
Isle of Aaron One of the courses here is named after the aisle of Aaron the Aaron course The other the Kintire course and this the Alsa course Fourth shot at the second for Anthony Kim
Oh no
he’s not done yet either
It’s pretty disastrous guys The ball was in a very very difficult line in the right roof off the tea You must you begin to feel a little silly don’t you And you can’t get out of bunkers where you know these are proper bunkers They’re hazards They’re not there just for decoration Um it’s a cruel game at times
That’s good though Peter isn’t it I mean they meant to be hazards
Well you’re supposed to avoid them
So it took Anthony three to get out of that bunker Really It’s like the that bunker was similar to the bunkers we see at St Andrews Really tiny little pot bunkers with very steep faces You can’t be too greedy from there You’ve got to just get out 10 15 yards or whatever take your medicine and move on Mroy just off the edge of the green at the second
This could be scary if it gets beyond the hole because it really slopes right off the left side of the green It’s a good speed It’s in It is too Well I think that’s worth a smile young man Smile and the world smiles with you Cry and you cry alone David How up at the 17th for par And back to that other group you know you got Goo Gusen who’s playing in his 15th open championship And then you got those young guns Kim and Mroy and they don’t have the experience but uh the enthusiasm certainly not lacking That’s for sure Uh the enthusiasm of youth It was interesting though listening to Tom Watson talk about his enthusiasm was uh as strong today as it had been at any other time in Open Championship history for him Have a stay at two under Stson along with Kenny Perry That that wide putting stance David with the extended arms tries to keep the Y the same as he goes back and through Gusen at the second birdie chance Perfect from the tea Just a nine iron into this green Peter Well he’s he’s not in it is he No The wind makes such a difference Judy Is it on I’ve never known a day Well of course I have but I’m just saying that But there’s hardly been a breath of wind in here since 6:00 this morning Very makeable part here for Stuart Sink Well done And that jumps him up into a tire with Tom Watson now at five under And if you are just joining us it’s 9:00 in the morning back in the East in the States We’re two hours deep into our coverage and uh as you see Stuart Singh joining Tom Watson who has been the story of round one here at the 138th Open Championship at Turnberry said afterwards that uh got a text message from uh Jack Nicholas wife Barbara and uh one of the reporters says “I’m amazed that you’re around or the fact that you’re text messaging.” Here’s Anthony Kim now to end the adventure or try to at the second Well early in the in the championship him in the second hole to take what he ended up to about a nine I reckon The co-leader Steuart Sink away at the 18th [Applause] Down the right corner That’s the ideal position down there Avoid the bunkers on the left We have a tie at the top at the open championship at Turnberry It’s shared at five under by Tom Watson and Steuart Sink Sink trying to stay there as he plays 18 [Music] a few uh video postcards for you from Turnberry site of the Open Championship here in Scotland Thanks for spending part of your Thursday with us here on TNT were with you for 7 hours plus here in the first round to do it again on Friday Ian Poulter and that was for par at the first He’d love to go one better this year Finishing runner up to Podrick Harrington at Royal Burkeale last year Bogey at the first the 354 yd opening hole Jeremy Kavanagh at the ninth The Englishman at three under as they all chase Tom Watson and Steuart Sink There’s the Turnberry Hotel and uh there you see Tom Watson Stewart Sink Here’s my question for you Ian Baker Finch What surprises you more that Tom Watson shot 65 today or that Tiger Wood shot 71 Uh I would say seeing Tom Watson shoot 65 at 59 years of age I I think that’s just a phenomenal round of golf the best round he’s had in an open championship in 15 years since the last time he played Turnbury in 1994 But I think the most important thing is that he actually won here 32 years ago in that fantastic jewel in the sun back in 77
Just a an unbelievable as you said played in a in a serene atmosphere out there Felt spiritual
Yeah What do you what do you make of Tiger’s round of 71
Well he struggled a little bit from the tea He hit three or four shots out to the right He he hit a shot uh viciously left on the third and I think that sort of changed his whole way of thinking as he went into the round Okay let’s avoid that one to the left and just let a few hang out to the right as he uh as he played around Sort of steered away from the trouble on the left and actually got a little fortunate at times to find some decent lies way right of the fairway So he’ll go to the range He’ll try and figure that out 71 certainly not out of it It’s only you know six back of the lead How does a player feel on a day like this when the conditions present themselves as they have right now
Well you expect to shoot a low round The course is defenseless on a day like today That’s the way golf should be played It’s uh if the weather blows you know 72 73 can be a good score And uh on a day like today the course is still set up tough It’s still intimidating from the TE as we watch David Hal second here at the last But uh you’re expecting to shoot in the 60s You’re expecting to take advantage of the calm conditions That is a great piece of work by David Howell at the 18th [Applause] Now we step back to the 17th Matthew Gogan
Yeah Young Australian’s been playing very well on the USPGA tour last couple of seasons Comes from Tasmania His mother Lindy was a very famous Australian player won the Australian Open titles a number of times Uh Steuart Sink has found the bunker at 18 How about this Uh how about the home hole here at Turnberry Peter
Well it’s been altered over the years I was involved in it 30 odd years ago of changing this when I was in partnership with David Thomas and we found the position for the 18th making it a dog leg They’ve lengthened it Uh it’s a formidable hole now and these bunkers are very steeply faced So if you go in them you have to take your punishment and just play out and don’t try to be too greedy You see what just happened to Anthony Kim Those of you were watching earlier just take nine shots on the second hole all because of finding a bunker and trying to be too greedy But it’s a it’s it’s okay It’s not a great great great finishing goal but uh it’s okay Steuart Sink at the moment sharing the lead with uh with Tom Watson And of course one of the stories here at the Open Championship has been 17-year-old from Japan Yo Ishikawa who is with Jim Huber
Yo what was your day like today Yeah I’m so honored to play with Tiger and Le
You were nervous
Yes A little nervous Yeah
It didn’t show Yeah And I think this is more important for me to play my golf Yeah
Were you able to forget everything else and concentrate
Yes Yes
So and you obviously are pleased with your results You played very well
Yeah Talk about your English a little bit You’ve been studying for five years now It’s important to you
to speak well right
Yeah But I hope I can speak very well More very well
You’re doing very well What was it like playing with Tiger Yeah Um he’s u uh he’s my respect Um
your hero
Yeah Very very nice man And uh I enjoyed it Yeah
Did were you able to talk to him today
Um yes a little bit
A little bit Yeah
What did he say to you
Um congratulation uh for your to win this year Yeah
And congratulations on beating me today right Congratulations and way to play
Yeah Thank you
Go
Yeah Very nice Japanese Thank you EJ
Very impressive Thank you Jimmy Steuart sinks third at the 18th Disappointing finish really to be now It’s got that 30footer for par Get a little aggressive from the tea there at 18 and those bunkers will grab it that’s for sure Cabrera Mast’s champion I love watching Cabrera play golf Just makes everything look so easy Like that’s the way it’s meant to be Fantastic flare It’s day one of the Open Championship By the way Tiger Woods has declined an invitation to come up and uh and talk to Jim He did uh he did talk to reporters and say hit a couple of shots to the right Three ripped a hole from about 15 ft Didn’t take advantage of 17 So there you have it And then there was just little more in a flash interview immediately after his round It’s day one at the open [Music] TNT Wednesday Nathan Ford and his team are back in TNT’s smash hit Leverage Don’t miss an all new episode of Leverage Wednesday at 9 Eastern 8 Central only on TNT There’s the good ship Poppy I wouldn’t want to be in that boat if the wind gets up And here is your reigning champion twotime reigning champion Podrick Harrington going for three in a row No one’s done it since Peter Thompson 54 55 56 Rock solid round for Tom Watson today at five under as we go back to the first and on Cabrera the Mast’s champion And you’re right he just does make it look so effortless so smooth And there’s your result Birdie chance early And now Steuart Sink at the 18th for his par to remain tied for the lead
Long look it’ll just stay left Yeah remember Tigers putt from a similar line Obviously a lot shorter but uh they think it’s going to turn down there and it just hangs out to the left all the time Good round of golf though for Stewart 66 has him one off the pace [Applause] Boy look at that 65 466es already It’s just quarter 2 in the afternoon We’ve got about eight more hours of play usually finish around uh well certainly nine o’clock Sometimes it’s been to 10 Mike Weir with an eagle try at the seventh And the former Masters champion saw Garcia eagle that same hole earlier Opening hole 354 yards Short hole for an opening hole Slight dog leg to the right Lots of deep bunkers down the left hand side that have to be avoided Pretty much everyone in the field just taking from four iron through to a rescue club just laying it up short of the first bunker Now David How for his birdie at the 18th Peter for a guy with a lot of bumps and bruises and aches and pains pretty good first day huh
Yeah very good He’s been u he’s been having a rough time lost confidence and he’s had all sorts of angles and wrists and one thing and your confidence goes as well But uh that’s a good round Back at the first tea now You
see 2:20 in the afternoon here local time And I’m sure you’ll hear the voice of Ivor Robson who has long introduced the games at the first te playing alongside Jim Furick and Jeff Ogulvie Good grouping Some good pairings going out now Davis love Paul Lur Stewart Applebee Mcinley Edison John Dailyaly dear old Iva Ivor Robson he’s been doing this for years he’s been there since I know4 6 this morning he’s been there he does he’s manages two or three breaks during the day he usually goes right through the whole thing never leaves his post they say he has an astronaut suit on under that jacket and trousers I don’t know how true that is
I also heard him say that his his theory is no input no output Yeah this is game number 41 on the island The defending champion Borick Harrington It’s a land Scottish accent if you’re wondering From the borders please Thank you changing some things with his swing Ian Yes he wasn’t happy with the way he was driving the ball He’s decided to uh try a few different things But it’s been a difficult struggle for him this year missed the last six cuts that he’s played but then played a a minor event this the Irish PGA Championship last week and won It’s the sixth time he’s won that and third in succession So could be an omen for his third attempt here I like Jim Purit’s chances You don’t have to be long to play well here And he’s a very straight hitter Good strategist This is another player like Cabrera that just makes it look so easy Just easy and free flow He almost stumbles into the ball He’s so relaxed Jeff Hogby the 2006 US Open champion and three well-played T- shots right down the middle at number one the shortest par4 on the course at 354 They’re well short of those bunkers
You look at the the day we have here and flags are not fluttering maybe in the least And the scoreboard reflects the conditions Here’s Cabrera with a chance for an early birdie Nothing to this game Uses a long shafted regular putter It’s 39 in It’s not really regarded as a long putter It’s more of a just a little bit longer than standard Paul Casey This was earlier Another one The Englishman ranked three in the world One of the favorites this week second on the European tour in scoring and figures to be a factor here from Matthew Gogan Yeah I know
Another rhythmical swing Lovely balance there Half a club short Don’t want to go long here but uh it’s going to be a tough two putt Three under par though is Matthew Gogan Right up there in the mix And the man at the top of the leaderboard on day one is Tom Watson Went out this morning and put a bogey free 65 on the board and they’re all chasing him Been a little over a half hour It’s at the turn presented by ING Terry Gan and Ian Baker Finch get you caught up on everything that’s happened so far today at Turnberry with highlights analysis and postround reaction from the leaders And Jim Huber enlightens us on Turnberry’s unique place in Britain’s wartime history That’s all at the turn presented by ING First hole Jim Furick dead center Second shot Just fire it in there Sort of 10 or 15 feet left of the hole would be good Okay good save shot Just avoided that little front slope in the front right in the bunkers on the right Matthew Gogan long look at birdie pull within a shot of the lead Are you kidding me Look at that finish that time Greg Norman made one from down there earlier in the day to cap a very difficult day but for Kogan that puts him within a shot of the lead 566 is now Podrick Harrington his second And and Peter your assessment of what we should see from Podrick this week Well I’m hoping to see some consistent play from him because he’s had a remark last couple of years but the last few months he’s been tinkering and he’s sort of lost his game Missed the last five cuz he won as you say the PJ championship of Ireland on a links course Won it good style but I mean he he’s going for a third consecutive win for our open championship Thompson did that Peter Thompson from 54 to 56 What’s forgotten Thompson I think finished second in 57 and won again in 58 Mhm
So he was within a shot or two of winning it five times in a row which would have been uh truly remarkable
So considering the tinkering and all that with his game I I don’t understand the tinkering I don’t I don’t That’s something that’s entirely foreign to me If you can play you’ve got your game you can hone it but you don’t tinker with it Else has tinkered with his game as well Oglebury pitches up to the first You you I don’t know why you take something to pieces if it’s working well I don’t understand that How about that one though He just crept over the bunker now virtually stoned dead And we’ll go up a few holes and find Mike Weir at the eighth His second shot Three under And the weather conditions remain absolutely placid And you’ve got to do a good score today One feels a really good score there That’s a nice little hop off the bank but it’s through the green and it’s going to struggle to get down to two more from there That was a club too many Watson leads the way But if you look beyond the leaderboard there I’ve never been at the links here certainly on the west coast of Scotland for so many hours and hardly seen a ripple in the sea It’s just not like that Let’s join Jim Peter thank you very much With George Sink uh an awful lot of low numbers out there today yours included Well you know it’s it’s not that hard to explain When you have a day like this with calm winds as good as a field is somebody’s going to tear the course up Doesn’t matter what kind of golf course it is And Turnberry is um it may be the best major championship venue u from just a pure golf course standpoint It’s it’s fair The the long holes have open greens the short holes have tight greens and um if you hit good shots out there you will be rewarded
And when there’s no wind it’s there for the taking Right
It is All you have to do really is you know you just strategically off the tea You still have to be you know mindful of the bunkers obviously but keep your ball in play um within the confines of the the big rough and you’ll you’ll have some uh you know places where you can take advantage of it even if it’s 200 yard shot
Start you’re sitting next to an awfully important trophy How important would it be to your career to have this in your possession right now Well uh I I don’t know if I can explain that how important it would be Uh I’ve played out here for a long time on tour and I’ve played in a lot of these opens and have yet to cash in on a major championship and this would this would definitely be a a cherry on top for me Uh you know I have so much respect for the link courses and the old style of golf they play over here and more and more every year you know it just continues to grow So uh I would love to add my name to that And looks like they don’t have much room left on there and I got a short name So no
we’ll figure it out Let’s had a little interesting side trip last week bringing your family over You you had a vacation planned for Ireland right Some lakes golf over there but you got delayed a day What happened Well we showed up at the Atlanta airport where I live and um when we were checking in with our passports we found that the kids passports both expired So uh you know we there’s nothing you can do Doesn’t matter who you know or anything You have to go through the the regular channels And
we uh had to push our trip back a day fly out of DC go to the passport agency there And luckily uh we had some really good people that work there that helped us out And we missed the day but we uh we ended up having a great time in Ireland out on the west coast and um played four days of Lynx golf with my kids and they their links uh their first experience on links So it’s really really a good experience
All is well that ends well but it’s starting well for you here Congratulations Great play
Thanks a lot Jim
KJ
Yeah Jim I’m sure they’re uh they’re high-fiving in the pro shops at East Lake in Atlanta at Sugarloaf in Duth Georgia Y they see Stewart quite a bit He’s one off the lead now Harrington at the first All right steady start This was earlier at the first Jim Furick’s birdie try All of the putts we’ve seen from this direction we just saw Padres’s as well have just missed slightly on the left just doesn’t keep turning like you think it would Moments to go Cabrera at the second doesn’t waste much time Just one look at the hold and away she goes Hello Distracted but it hasn’t made much difference Chance for another three now after that great approach by Jeff Ogulvie Chance to jump immediately into the red numbers and does Very nice looks relaxed and calm and certainly one of the favorites this week Certainly one of the top six or seven players
Yes folks that is Turnberry Yes this is the Open Championship and that is the weather on day one Absolutely perfect And Tom Watson at the age of 59 shoots 65 Second hole now The defending champion Harrington just playing to hit the fairway tweaked one or two of these holes on the course Few new TE’s several new bunkers reshaping of bunkers and he’s got away to a good start Is it Two nice shots down the first hole and a good putt Found the fairway at the second Up ahead Cabrera going for his second birdie of the day The greens are running at a a nice speed not a dangerous speed And the the slopes here aren’t so severe as to make them frightening You can’t really have lightning fast greens by the sea when it blows Here’s Furick at the second Tomorrow the forecast could be a little bit wild and windy maybe some rain So for the challenges really you feel they’ve got to get under power today They don’t want to be too far behind and certainly Tiger isn’t too far behind at 71 Everyone’s sort of rather looking long face as if that’s the end of the road but of course it’s not here at the 138th Open Championship day one The story is Tom Watson the fivetime open champion shooting 65 five under and everybody is is giving chase
4 Comments
Thank you very much for uploading. Great to see Tigers R1 at Turnberry.
You are a legend for uploading these!!!
Thanks for uploading these Tiger rounds. 2009 was a weird year for him. He still was the best player in the world but he had some strange rounds in 09. Think about the final round of the Players, he looked lost. He lost two times against Phil head to head (Masters 09, HSBC 09) His loss at the PGA while leading after 3 rounds was new too.
Absolutely awesome!!! Thanks again!